Arrangement for closing doors and the like

ABSTRACT

A frame has an upper frame member and a door is swingably mounted in the frame and has an upper part adjacent this frame member. A door-closing unit is mounted in the frame member with a shaft projecting downwardly towards the upper part of the door and permanently biased for turning movement towards a rest position. A coupling arrangement couples the shaft with the door so that the shaft is turned from rest position when the door swings. The coupling arrangement has a coupling member which extends along the upper part of the door and which has two portions at opposite axial sides of the shaft, a pair of screws which are connected with both portions and draw the same together so that they clamp the shaft between them to prevent it from rotating relatively to the door, and a bushing which surrounds at least one of the screws and axially spaced sections of which are received in corresponding recesses provided in the aforementioned portions of the coupling member.

United States Patent 91 Jentsch 5] Apr. 10, 1973 [54] ARRANGED/BENT FOR CLOSING DOORS AND THE LIKE Primary ExaminerKenneth Downey [75] Inventor: Dietrich Jentsch, Ennepetal-Voerde, Attorney-Michael Smker Germany 57 ABSTRACT [73] Assignee; Firma Dorken & Mankel KG, En-

nepetapvoerde Germany A frame has an upper frame member and a door is swingably mounted in the frame and has an upper part [22] Filed: 1971 adjacent this frame member. A door-closing unit is [2]] App} NC,z 2 5 mounted in the frame member with a shaft projecting downwardly towards the upper part of the door and permanently biased for turning movement towards a [30] Forelgn Apphcatlon Pnonty Data rest position. A coupling arrangement couples the Mar. 18, 1970 Germany ..P 20 12 825.0 Shaft with the door so that the shaft is turned from rest position when the door swings. The coupling arrange- [52] US. Cl. ..49/388, 16/129, 16/ 130 ment has a coupling member which extends along the [51] Int. Cl. ..E05d 7/08 upper part of the door and which has two portions at [58] Field of Search... ..49/388; 85/ l R; opposite axial sides of the shaft, a pair of screws which 287/189.36 F; 16/129, 130 are connected with both portions and draw the same together so that they clamp the shaft between them to Refel'elltles Cited prevent it from rotating relatively to the door, and a bushing which surrounds at least one of the screws UNITED STATES PATENTS and axially spaced sections of which are received in 3,115,665 12/1963 Cecala 16/129 corresponding recesses provided in the aforemen- 3,185,51 1 5/1965 Wochner et a]. ..85/l R tioned portions of the coupling member. 3,531,903 lO/l970 Swanson ...287/l89.36 F 3,148,407 9/ 1964 Glasbrenner ..49/388 X 7 Clairm, 4 Drawing Figures PATENIEDAPM 0:273

//v/ /vr0p mama Tevrsc Ir ARRANGEMENT FOR CLOSING DOORS AND THE LIKE BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates generally to an arrangement for closing doors and the like, and more particularly to a novel arrangement of this type.

It is already known to provide the upper transversely extending frame member of a door frame or the like with a door-closing unit which is accommodated in the frame member and a shaft of which projects downwardly towards the upper part of a door which is swingably mounted in this frame. On the door is mounted a coupling means which couples'the shaft with the door so that the shaft is turned as the door swings in the frame. It is also known to utilize in the coupling means a coupling structure comprising two portions which are drawn together so as to clamp the shaft between them in a non-rotatable sense.

However, it has been found that in these prior-art constructions there develop forces during the use of the device, and particularly forces which act in the direction of the line of separation between the two portions which are drawn together, which cannot be permanently withstood by the screws which connect the two portions in a sense drawing them together to clamp the shaft between them. Also, frequently there is not sufficient space available for the mounting of these prior-art constructions.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is, accordingly, an object of the present invention to provide an-improved arrangement of the type under discussion which avoids the aforementioned disadvantages.

More particularly it is an object of the present invention to provide such an improved arrangement in which the aforementioned unacceptable forces are avoided.

In pursuance of the above objects, and of others which will become apparent hereafter, one feature of the invention resides in an arrangement of the type under discussion which, briefly stated, comprises a frame having a transversely extending upper frame member and a door swingably mounted in this frame and having an upper part adjacent the frame member. A door-closing unit is accommodated in the frame member and has a shaft projecting downwardly towards the upper part of the door and which is permanently biased for turning movement towards a rest position.

According to the invention there is further provided coupling means which couples the shaft with the door so that the shaft is turned from its rest position in response to swing of the door. This coupling means comprises a coupling member which extends along the upper part of the door and which has two portions at opposite axial sides of the shaft. A pair of screws are each connected with both of these portions and draw the same together in a sense clamping the shaft between these portions against rotation relative to the door. Further, there is provided at least one bushing which surrounds at least one of the screws and which has axially spaced sections received in respective recesses provided in the aforementioned portions of the coupling member.

Thus, the screws are reliably relieved of any forces which act in parallelism with the line of separation between the portions. The space required for the provision of the bushing is very small but the latter, despite its small dimensions, is capable of reliably withstanding any forces which act in the direction of the line of separation of the portions. This eliminates the transmission of such forces to the screws and the possibility of damaging of the latter. It further eliminates the possibility of undesired loosening of the screws in operation. Finally, it is also clear that resort to the present invention makes it possible to have relatively wide manufacturing tolerances in the manufacturing of the various components but because a relatively wide line of separation may be permitted to exist when one or more of the bushings are present for reasons which will become clearer subsequently.

The novel features which are considered as characteristic for the invention are set forth in particular in the appended claims. The invention itself, however, both as to its construction and its method of operation, together with additional objects and advantages thereof, will be best understood from the following description of specific embodiments when read in connection with the adcompanying drawing.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING FIG. 1 is a partially sectioned partially broken away vertical elevation of an arrangement embodying the invention;

FIG. 2 is a top-plan view of FIG. 1 with certain portions omitted for clarity; a

FIG. 3 is a fragmentarysectional view, on an enlarged scale, showing a detail of the embodiment in FIGS. 1 and 2; and

FIG. 4 is a partially sectioned, partially broken away detail view of FIG. 3, on a still further enlarged scale and in an exploded view.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT Discussing now the drawing in detail it will be seen that I have shown in somewhat simplified form a frame of which there is illustrated an upright 10, an upper horizontal or transversely extending frame member 11 and a lower horizontal transversely extending frame member 12. Mounted in this frame there is a door which itself is composed of a frame consisting of profiled sections and having an upper transversely or horizontally extending part 13 of quadratic cross-section, having upright walls which project upwardly in form of ledges l4.

Accommodated in the upper transversely extending frame member 11 is an automatically operated doorclosing unit 15 of known conventional construction which is provided with a shaft 16 extending downwardly towards the door, that is downwardly out of the frame member 11. The shaft 16 constitutes the upper pin about which the door is swingably mounted in the frame, and at its lower end the door is mounted in the frame, or more particularly in the transversely extending lower frame member 12, in conventional manner by means of a pin-type journal 17 as illustrated.

The shaft 16 of the door-closing unit 15 is connected with the upper part 13 of the door with a coupling 18 according to the present invention. As shown, the coupling 18 comprises an elongated member 19 which is mounted between the ledges 14 with limited longitudinal displacement capability, and which is preferably also pivotably mounted. In the illustrated embodiment (but not necessarily) there is provided a carrier plate 20 which is associated with and located beneath the member 19 and provided at that end which is the righthand end in FIGS. 1 and 2, with upwardly extending lugs 21 with which adjustment screws 22 are provided in the member 19 cooperate for abutment purposes. It will be understood that by threading the screws 22 which are threaded into the member 19 from opposite sidesto a greater or lesser degree into the member 19, the point of abutment can be varied so that the member 19 can pivot about the pivot mount 27 to a greater or lesser degree depending upon the extent to which the screws 22 are threaded into its free end portion. The plate 20 is connected with the part 13 of the door in suitable manner so as to be non-movable, for instance by means of screws as illustrated in FIG. 1.

In the illustrated embodiment the member 19 rises in its cross-sectional height towards the left-hand side of FIGS. 1 and 2, until it reaches approximately the height of the space between the ledges l4 (compare FIG. 1). It then continues inform of a tongue 23 which has a much lesser height as also evident from FIG. 1, corresponding approximately to that of a supporting member which is constructed as a pin 24 and projects upwardly from the plate 20. The pin 24 is of circular cross-section in the illustrated embodiment and a pressure screw 25 is threaded into it so as to be adjustable in the direction of the width of the door, that is longitudinally of the part 13 thereof. Pin 24 in turn is located in a bifurcated portion of the tongue 23, formed by the presence of a slot 26 and the free end of the pressure screw 25 abuts against the base of this slot so that, by threading the screw 25 into and through the pin 24 to a greater or lesser degree, the position of the door can be adjusted with reference to the shaft 16 by transmitting requisite force upon the member 20.

As shown in FIG. 2, the shaft 16 has a polygonal cross-section for instance rectangular as shownand extends into a vertical recess of the member 19, which recess is to be closed by a bridging member 28 with the help of tensioning screws 29 so that the shaft 16 can be tightly clamped against rotation with reference to the plate 20 and therefore to the door. The bridging member 28 may abut against the upper surface of the tongue 23 if desired.

Because the shaft 16 must always be firmly clamped in the indicated manner, the member 28 cannot be allowed to firmly abut against and be supported by the step or shoulder formed by the differences in height between the tongue 23 and the higher portion of the member 19. Due to the existance of this gap (which is clearly shown in FIGS. 1 and 2) there would normally be considerable forces acting upon the screws 29 in the direction of the line of separation, that is in the direction of the gap existing between the member 28 and the shoulder of the member 19. According to the present invention this is avoided by providing at least one or, as in the illustrated embodiment, both of the screws 29 with bushings 30 which may be in form of sections cut from tubular material or in form of suitably hardened springy sheet material which is bent to the requisite tubular configuration but leaving a longitudinal slot. At one end, as at 31, they may be provided with a bevel (compare FIG. 4). To accommodate the bushings the bores 32 in the member 28 are enlarged at 33, and similarly the bores in the member 19 are enlarged at 34, and the total axial length of the bores is such that it is slightly greater than the axial length of the bushings 30. The inner diameter of the bushings 30 corresponds to the outer diameter of the screws 29.

When the device is assembled as in FIG. 2 or in FIG. 3, forces which act in the direction of the gap or line of separation between the member 28 and the member 19 are absorbed not by the screws 29 but by the bushings 30 even if the gap between the member 28 and the member 19 is relatively wide as a result of liberal tolerance variations permitted. This means, of course, a permanent avoidance of undesirable stresses and strains upon the screws 29, so that the latter now only serve their intended purpose of drawing the member 28 and the member 19 together in a sense clamping the shaft 16 between them against undesired rotational displacement.

In certain circumstances it is entirely possible to utilize only a single busing 30, instead of using two of them. Instead of bushings which are made from sheet material bent to tubular form with an axial slot remaining, sections of tubular stock can be utilized as indicated before, and such bushings of either type can be manufactured to required dimensions or can he usually obtained commercially in necessary sizes and configurations. Naturally the invention is applicable not only to the particular embodiment illustrated herein but also to other embodiments wherein elements corresponding to the elements 19 and 28 are to be connected in a similar manner but wherein the arrangement and configuration of the various components may differ from what has been illustrated herein.

It will be understood that each of the elements described above, or two or more together, may also find a useful application in other types of constructions differing from the types described above.

While the invention has been illustrated and described as embodied in an arrangement for closing doors and and the like, it is not intended to be limited to the details shown, since various modifications and structural changes may be made without departing in any way from the spirit of the present invention.

Without further analysis, the foregoing will so fully reveal the gist of the present invention that others can by applying current knowledge readily adapt it for various applications without omitting features that, from the standpoint of prior art, fairly constitute essential characteristics of the generic or specific aspects of this invention and, therefore, such adaptations should and are intended to be comprehended within the meaning and range of equivalence of the following claims.

What is claimed as new and desired to be protected by Letters Patent is set forth in the appended I claim:

1. An arrangement of the character described, comprising a frame having a transversely extending upper frame member; a door swingably mounted in said frame and having an upper part adjacent said frame member; a door-closing unit accommodated in said frame member and having a shaft projecting downwardly towards said upper part and which is permanently biased for turning movement towards a rest position; and coupling means for releasably coupling said shaft with said door so that said shaft is turned from said rest position in response to swinging of said door, said coupling means comprising a coupling member extending along said upper part of said door and having two portions located at opposite axial sides of said shaft and defining with one another an unobstructed gap, two pairs of axially aligned cylindrical bores provided in the respective portions, at least one cylindrical bushing bridging said gap and having axially spaced sections each received in a bore of one pair of said bores, and a pair of screws each extending through the aligned bores of one of said pairs and being connected with both of said portions, (also bridging said gap) and drawing said portions together for thereby clamping said shaft between said portions against rotation relative to said door, one of said screws extending freely withdrawably through said cylindrical bushing.

2. An arrangement as defined in claim 1, wherein 5. An arrangement as defined in claim 1, said coupling means comprising an additional bushing surrounding the other of said screws and also having axially spaced sections which are received in respective additional recesses also provided in said portions of said coupling member.

6. An arrangement as defined in claim 1, wherein said shaft is of other-than circular cross-sectional configuration.

7. An arrangement as defined in claim 1, said coupling means comprising an additional bushing surrounding the other of said screws also bridging said gap and having axially spaced sections which are received in the respective bores of the other pair of bores. 

1. An arrangement of the character described, comprising a frame having a transversely extending upper frame member; a door swingably mounted in said frame and having an upper part adjacent said frame member; a door-closing unit accommodated in said frame member and having a shaft projecting downwardly towards said upper part and which is permanently biased for turning movement towards a rest position; and coupling means for releasably coupling said shaft with said door so that said shaft is turned from said rest position in response to swinging of said door, said coupling means comprising a coupling member extending along said upper part of said door and having two portions located at opposite axial sides of said shaft and defining with one another an unobstructed gap, two pairs of axially aligned cylindrical bores provided in the respective portions, at least one cylindrical bushing bridging said gap and having axially spaced sections each received in a bore of one pair of said bores, and a pair of screws each extending through the aligned bores of one of said pairs and being connected with both of said portions, (also bridging said gap) and drawing said portions together for thereby clamping said shaft between said portions against rotation relative to said door, one of said screws extending freely withdrawably through said cylindrical bushing.
 2. An arrangement as defined in claim 1, wherein said bushing is circumferentially complete.
 3. An arrangement as defined in claim 1, wherein said bushing has two spaced axial ends; and wherein at least one of said ends is chamfered for facilitating its insertion into said recesses.
 4. An arrangement as defined in claim 1, wherein said bushing is provided with an axially extending slit.
 5. An arranGement as defined in claim 1, said coupling means comprising an additional bushing surrounding the other of said screws and also having axially spaced sections which are received in respective additional recesses also provided in said portions of said coupling member.
 6. An arrangement as defined in claim 1, wherein said shaft is of other-than circular cross-sectional configuration.
 7. An arrangement as defined in claim 1, said coupling means comprising an additional bushing surrounding the other of said screws also bridging said gap and having axially spaced sections which are received in the respective bores of the other pair of bores. 